Crocothemis is a genus of dragonflies in the Libellulidae family,[1] subfamily Sympetrinae (darters). Various species of this genus occur in southern Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Southwest Pacific. They are generally small to medium-sized dragonflies.
These dragonflies are often noticed due to their colours. Males are generally very brightly coloured, ranging from totally red in several species, to the rich blue of Australia's C. nigrifrons. As with many Libellulid species, the females tend to be dull brown or orange.
Like most libellulids they tend to perch on sticks, reeds or stones near water, flying out to catch insects then returning to their perch.
The genus contains the following species:[2]
| Male | Female | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crocothemis brevistigma | Spotted Scarlet | Ikelenge, Mwinilunga, Zambia | ||
| Crocothemis chaldaeorum | Bahrain; Iran; Iraq; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait | |||
| Crocothemis corocea | ||||
| Crocothemis divisa | divisa scarlet, slender scarlet, slender scarlet-darter[3] | tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar | ||
| Crocothemis erythraea | scarlet darter,[4] broad scarlet[5] | southern Europe and throughout Africa, western Asia as far as southern China | ||
| Crocothemis nigrifrons | black-headed skimmer[6] | Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. | ||
| Crocothemis sanguinolenta | little scarlet, slim scarlet-darter, small scarlet[7] | Africa south of the Sahara (including Madagascar), in the Levant, and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. | ||
| Crocothemis saxicolor | granite scarlet[8] | Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, possibly Liberia, and possibly Sierra Leone. | ||
| Crocothemis servilia | scarlet skimmer,[9] oriental scarlet[10] | east and southeast Asia | ||
| Crocothemis striata | Black-legged Scarlet | Madagascar | ||